Diego Simeone was left irritated by a reporter's question about Julian Alvarez not taking part in the substitutes' customary warm-down after Atletico Madrid's 3-0 defeat to Athletic Club Bilbao. The Argentinian striker came off the bench just before the hour mark, with the visitors 2-0 down at the San Mames.
Match details and transfer speculation
Nico Williams and Robert Navarro had put Bilbao two goals to the good in quick succession at the start of the second half, leaving Atleti with plenty of work to do. Alvarez couldn't help his side find a way back into the game, with Athletic scoring a third through Oihan Sancent in the 90th minute.
It's been a tumultuous summer for the World Cup winner, having made it clear that he wanted to leave Atletico Madrid in order to join Barcelona. However, Atleti held firm in their stance, they would not sell to their La Liga rivals, and released a statement criticising the reigning champions for their conduct and pursuit of Alvarez.
Arsenal and Man City links
The Argentinian striker was also linked with a return to the Premier League with Arsenal and Man City interested in signing the 26-year-old, though a transfer fee would have been well in excess of £100m. While the Gunners were keen on a move for the striker, no club was able to match that valuation before the transfer deadline passed, and Alvarez remains an Atletico Madrid player - for now at least.
The forward returned to Diego Simeone's squad for the trip to the San Mames, having missed the 3-1 win over Sevilla in the days leading up to deadline day. Alvarez came off the bench in the 59th minute and had the best chance to score for Atleti, but his shot from the edge of the box was saved by Unai Simon.
Post-match reaction
After the game, Alvarez did not take part in the customary cool down with his fellow substitutes and Simeone was asked about his absence after the game.
"Are you seriously asking me that? I have nothing to say," Simeone replied, clearly irritated by the question, standing up and leaving the post-match press conference.
The Atletico Madrid boss has had to answer constant questions about Alvarez and his future at the club throughout the summer. Speaking ahead of the game in Bilbao, he said: "Julian Alvarez will be in the squad tomorrow. He's training well, and we expect the best from him, just as we do from all his team-mates.
"For me, life is full of opportunities. And Julian now has an opportunity. A lot of the time, we spend our lives judging, and we need to worry about doing that less and learning more. I hope this has served as a learning experience for him."
"I hope he's happy and, as [Paulo] Futre [Atletico Madrid's director of football] told him yesterday in a lovely video... that he shows it by scoring goals."
